Jim and Molly
by tvshowfan2604
Summary: The relationship between Jim Moriarty and Molly Hooper
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything but the plot.

17:58

Molly still wasn't sure if she should meet Jim at _The Fox_ for dinner at six. Could she sit there and ask him if he was gay? Could she ignore what Sherlock had told her and wait what Jim would do now? Maybe he would tell her himself that he was more interested in Sherlock than Molly. Could she bear to hear that? Wasn't it bad enough that she had been humiliated by Sherlock in front of John. But on the other hand maybe Jim would explain why he had given Sherlock his number. This way Molly would at least get some closure. It was really the worst luck that she had with men. After thinking things through one last time Molly was sure that she would definitely need to have the closure after one last talk with Jim, let him tell her why he used her. Did he really use her? "Yes, of course, he did.", she answered herself sternly. No false hope that this might work out.

18:15

Molly entered _The Fox_ and instantly saw Jim in the corner of the pub in a booth. He sat at a table that screamed "romantic". Molly took a deep breath and slowly walked over there. Halfway through the pub Jim saw her and jumped to his feet, a big smile on his face. "Hi.", he said, kissing her lightly on the lips as she approached. Molly let him do that, even managed a weak smile, even though she never really looked at him and then slid into the booth. "What's the matter?", asked Jim, the concern evident in his voice. "Yu seemed fine this morning. Has something happened?" Molly had laid her hands on the table when she sat down and now Jim had covered them with his right hand, squeezing lightly. Molly made a small noise. The she summoned all her courage and decided to ask Jim the question that had plagued her all day. "Jim," she started and looked at him for the first time since she arrived. He was watching her carefully. Molly's pulse starting to pick up. "Why did you give Sherlock your number?", she suddenly blurted out.

Something in Jims face changed. Now he did not look mildly concerned any longer but guarded. The look he gave her was not really intimidating but nonetheless she was sure she better had not asked this question. Well, too late now. "Well, Molly darling, are you absolutely sure you want to know the truth about the meeting of Sherlock and I?" Jim's voice had changed drastically. He sounded posh and tense and not at all like the Jim she knew. Lost was the Irish accent that sounded so nice on his tongue. This moment Molly realized there was a lot that Jim had not told her about himself. But it seemed that she now got the chance to see who her date really was. "Yes, I want to know.", she underlined this bold statement with a determined look at the man sitting next to her. He raised his eyebrows. "Sure, darling?" Jims grin was getting slightly terrifying but Molly was determined not to look scared or back down. Jims grin got wider as he watched her. "Well, well, well. Not so mousy anymore, our little Molly. I must say it is surprising." To Molly it seemed that Jim found that quite appealing. She took another deep breath and looked him right into the eyes. "Are you going to tell me? Or are you going to keep being surprised about my behavior, even though you don't know me?" Jim laughed. "Feisty." Molly, however, wasn't amused. Right as she was standing up to leave, Jim stood, too, and laid his hands on her shoulders, pushing so that she was forced down again. However, he was doing it gently, without too much force. Just enough that Molly got the message.

"So impatient. You sure keep surprising me today." Molly tried to keep her face impassive. Right now she did not know how to handle this man that was so different from the one she had spent all this time with. " I can see you now realize that _Jim from IT_ wasn't the real me." Jim started his explanation. He was sitting close to her, both in the corner of the booth. Molly guessed that for an outsider they looked like a couple wanting to get as close as possible. "My name is James Moriarty and I'm a criminal Consultant. The only Criminal Consultant." whispered the man. His mouth was right next to Molly's ear and she could feel his breath on her neck, making her sigh softly. "But, honey, you can call me Jim." He did not move away from Molly but he moved his face in front of her so he could watch her reaction to his words. "Are you scared now?" This last sentence came out in a sing-song, Jim's - Moriarty's - grin widening. He was sure Molly would be scared, one could see that he was waiting for this reaction. That was why Molly tried her hardest not to look scared. "That still doesn't tell me why you gave Sherlock your number, does it?" asked Molly, praying that this wouldn't be her last words. But he had seemed to like being surprised by her, maybe if she would not do what he expected this would end well. Or at least not in a total disaster. She hadn't even finished her statement that Jim kissed her. It was a quick kiss, only a peck, really, but Molly was perplexed."Oh, Molly, Molly, are you jealous?", asked Moriarty. Molly had quickly realized that James Moriarty liked playing. If he wanted to play, she could play along. "I'd prefer not to have a threesome with you, me and Dream-Sherlock. I might reconsider with the real one." She told him cheekily. Moriarty barked a short laugh. "Very well."

He put his hands together in front of him, thinking. Then he looked at her carefully. "I am not gay. This I can tell you." Molly nodded. This made sense, he did not seem gay, at least not the Moriarty that was sitting in front of her. But before she could react further or say anything Moriarty continued his speech. "I've got two options for you. One: you will leave now, go home and forget everything I told you. I will do the same and we will never meet again. I strongly advise you to this option." James Moriarty watched Molly's face for any reaction to his words. She had surprised him today, which was why he was being especially kind to her. Letting her go was the kindest thing he had done in a long time. "What's option number 2?" asked Molly. She knew that she should just up and leave, her brain screamed at her to just go, but something inside of her wanted to stay. James Moriarty was strangely fascinating. He had nothing in common with Jim from IT but she was thrilled with this part of his personality. Molly thought she better not think what this said about herself. "Option number 2 is we order take-out and go to your flat. We will play a game. I tell you some of my secrets – Meeting Sherlock for example – but you have to play, too." Moriarty had a gleam in his eyes that might make some people run but Molly was intrigued. "Secrets of my own?" she asked him, because surely that was not the plan? "Oh, no." Moriarty replied in a flat tone. The he sing-songed his next sentence. "Figure it out yourself." "Then we should order our food, I think." Molly replied. She had decided that she rather have one night of excitement with this James Moriarty than another dull evening at home, mourning yet another unsuccessful try at a relationship. This cannot end well, her brain said, but she ignored it. Moriarty's grin widened at her words and he gestured to the waiter.

19:15

Molly felt strange having James Moriarty sitting on her couch, packing the take-out onto the table while she found cutlery for them. Jim had been in her flat already, they had watched TV, which meant that he had already been on her couch, in the exact same spot, but now it seemed different. His whole appearance seemed different even though he still wore the same clothes from this morning, the grey t-shirt and the low, brown jeans. Molly used the moment coming from the kitchen to observe the man sitting in her living room. Since his reveal of his lie she hadn't had a moment to think things through. Even in the cab ride over he had made small-talk with her. James Moriarty was really something special. First telling her he was a criminal, then suggesting a game for secrets and afterwards taking about the weather and Toby, her cat. He looked up and saw Molly standing at the entrance to the living room and smiled. "Good, come on over, the food is prepared." His hands made a gesture to show her all of it on the table. Molly thought about the difference between the Consulting Criminal that seemed eager to eat and the Consulting Detective who never acknowledged the fact that he might need food. But as soon as the thoughts of Sherlock popped into her head she banished them. Better keep focused on the man sitting next to her now. They had both only taken the first bite of their food when his ringtone interrupted the silence and Moriarty frowned. "Excuse me, I have to take this." he told her, but with an apologetic smile. "I thought I would be free already at this time. You changed my plans for the evening." This was said with a big grin, like he was happy about the change and Molly couldn't do anything but smile back. He wasn't the only one whose plans for the evening had turned out differently than expected. Moriarty had answered his phone and then walked away into the kitchen so that Molly could not listen in. Molly continued eating. No way would she let the delicious food get cold just because her companion was on the phone.

5 minutes later Moriarty came back. He rolled his eyes while he sat down again and told her: "Business. Always so tedious these people." Molly smiled slightly "I wouldn't know. My clients are silent but interesting. Mostly." One can envy you that you only have to handle dead people." Moriarty said between two bites, and he sounded honest. The next minutes Molly and Moriarty ate in silence. Only when the food was finished, Moriarty leaned back and relaxed. "Still sure that you want to play the game?" he asked grinning. Molly had stood up and tied up the table. The question made her look at the man on the couch in surprise. "I can still have an out?", she asked perplexed. "I liked your company with dinner so I'm being generous. If you want me to leave now, I will do as you say." Molly grinned now, too. "And if I say something different, will you do as I say then, too?", she asked cheekily, biting her lips and watching him from hooded eyes. Moriarty's mocked a scandalized look. "Molly Hooper.", he said. "Tststs." Molly looked innocently at him. "Technically this is our third date and we already had dinner." she explained. Then she moved to the couch again, kneeling next to Moriarty and whispered into his ear. "How about we skip the game you planned and play in the bedroom instead?" She had barely finished this proposal that Moriarty had clutched his hands around her hips and had pulled her into his lap, his mouth covering hers in a passionate kiss. Molly whimpered. God, he could kiss. The man might be bad but his kissing ability definitely wasn't. If he continued this way, the evening would be more than satisfactory.

Molly shifted so that she was now straddled him, still kissing. His hands gripped her hips tightly but only for a short moment then he moved his right hand under her shirt, letting it wander up her body, caressing her. Molly moved her hands behind his head, playing with his short hair, the left hand stroking his jaw. She could now feel that Moriarty was more than excited by her. He was hard, thrusting up every time she gave a strangled moan. His one hand had found her breasts; the other started to remove her shirt. Molly was more than willing to let that happen, tugging at Jims t-shirt herself. "When had he become Jim again?" Molly thought for a moment, but then dismissed this thought, instead enjoying the moment. They parted for a second, both slipping out of their shirts, but then their mouths found each other again. While still kissing her, Moriarty started to undo her bra and left Molly bare from the hips up. Then he stopped kissing her, using the time to just look at her, admiring her body. Molly felt a little self-conscious but Moriarty did not let her. "You look amazing, darling." said the husky voice of the Consulting Criminal. "Bet you will look even better totally naked." He grinned at her but this time it was in no way intimidating or scary. Molly smiled back. "I bet you would look even better naked on my bed.", she told him. As fun as this was, she wanted to move things along. As it was, Moriarty was not against her wishes. "Lead the way, honey."

21:00

Molly and Jim – definitely Jim now, not Moriarty – were lying in Molly's bed, breathing hard, spooning and coming down from their high. Jim held her to his side, their fingers of the left hands entwined. This evening had taken a turn for the fantastic instead the dull post-breakup couch-snuggling Molly had expected. "Now I know Sherlock is not right all the time." she said happily, but then bit her tongue. She better had not mentioned Sherlock, while lying in bed with the Consulting Criminal Moriarty. She closed her eyes and waited for the night to turn sour. But she only felt a slight rumble in Jim's chest - still pressed to her back - that was a quite chuckle. "I told you already, darling, that I am not gay." "You lied to me about being Jim from IT I just wanted to make sure." Jim growled and bit lightly on her neck. "This was business to you? That won't do. We have to do it all again just for the fun of it." Molly smiled and turned so that their fronts were to each other. "If you insist." Just as they had started kissing again, Jim's phone rang in the pocket of his trousers. "Bummer." Jim said but stood up and answered his phone. "Speak." Molly admired his physique, standing there giving her a wink and walking off, letting her admire his butt, too. While she relaxed in her bed Molly had the time and peace to think about all she had learned about Jim Moriarty this evening.

_Definitely not gay, but wanted to appear that way to Sherlock. _(Why?)

_Consulting Criminal, whatever that entailed._

_Is quite busy but also found the time to play Jim from IT_. (Why?)

_Like Sherlock he needs to be surprised and entertained by people_. (In contrast to Sherlock she can do that with Jim, she is not stuttering and blushing and fumbling with him.)

Molly couldn't predict how he might react to any given situation but that made him also quite fascinating and exciting and Molly realized that she needed that. The boring, normal men had all been disappointing this far in her life. Maybe she needed someone not quite normal. This would also explain why she let Sherlock walk all over her, hoping he would notice her one day. "Well it seems as if I don't just found out a lot new stuff about Jim but also myself tonight." Molly thought, still lying there, eyes closed and relaxing. If only Jim would come back to snuggle up, she would be asleep in a minute.

6:07

Molly woke up because the sun shone on her face. "Why does the sun shine? Doesn't she normally close the blinds so this won't happen?" Then the evening before came back to her and she realized that she was alone in bed but still naked. Well, that was not how she imagined the evening would continue. A bit disappointed Molly got up; she had to work that day. Good thing the sun woke her up. Molly went into her kitchen where she found a note on the table. She smiled because at least he did not leave without saying goodbye.

_Darling, excuse my leaving but I could not stay. _

_We did not play my game but I tell you one secret anyway: I wanted to see if Sherlock was as easy to manipulate as I thought. _

_Thank you for the lovely evening, Jim._

"That does not sound like I will see him again." thought Molly. This only furthered her disappointment. But then her rational side remarked that she should be grateful the evening had ended this well. Jim was a criminal, and if he went against Sherlock he was probably way more dangerous than he let on yesterday. But it was a shame. Jim had been fun and Moriarty even more. And _that_ sounded so wrong. One person, two personalities, that was the absolute worst kind of scenario for a peaceful relationship - that practically spelled danger. Molly was still standing in her kitchen, note in hand when she let the rational side of her brain win this argument. Bette be happy that this threat is out of your life! This was the final statement on Jim Moriarty. Well, for now. Maybe she would let herself mourn another failed try at domesticity tonight. But not Jim himself but only the option he had provided. Yes, this was okay, Molly decided, knowing full well she was deluding herself. Whatever!


	2. 4 Date

I don't own anything but the plot.

19:37

…_here I go/ again on my own/ going down the only road I've ever known/ like a drifter I was born to walk alone/ and I made up my mind/ I ain't wasting no more time…_

Molly was singing this song, realizing how perfect it described her new attitude to life. "I should make _Whitesnakes - Here I go again_ make my official theme music." thought Molly and changed her ringtone accordingly. Molly had realized that Jim had left her and appeared to be out if her life for good. She had tried to ring him the morning she had discovered he left but the number wasn't working anymore. He had also stopped coming to work, where she told everyone she broke up with him. There was no way for Molly to contact Jim and she was glad, that's what she had to tell herself over and over till she believed it. But now she was sure it was a good thing. Molly had allowed herself one evening of self-indulgence and regret (eating ice-cream and watching sappy movies). She had needed it, especially after she found a little note on her ice-cream carton. _Don't be obvious, darling, of course you miss me._ This had made her cry because it showed that cared. No one left two notes if one did not care. But now she had officially started over, became a new girl. Well, at least she tried.

Molly had never thought that it was her that had a problem with the men she went out with but now she knew better. She needed something - someone - more interesting, challenging. No normal guy will satisfy her anymore, maybe never had. That was one of the reasons she still held onto the hope that Sherlock might come around and notice her. Well, that and the crush she had on him was still there, now Molly only new why she was so fascinated by him. And it was a lot easier and safer to have a crush on the Consulting Detective than search for… No, not going there again.

Molly had now finally finished her dinner preparations and sat down, turning the music off and the TV on. She was spot on for the news, telling her about some gas leak that had a building collapsing with 11 dead. Molly groaned. These things were really bad. But it was strange that it was the second gas leak in the city in such a relatively short time. Hadn't there been an explosion at Sherlock's not too long ago? The city really needed to make sure that this would stop. But for now she had enough of these depressing news, Molly changed the channel to something nicer. She had enough dead people during her working hours she would like to think about something different for once while eating dinner.

That was when she remembered the lonely flower that had been on her desk today. It was a white Calla Lily, standing in a vase for a single flower, right in the middle of her desk when she arrived at work. Molly had been stumped because she could not imagine who would send her this. But she had liked this elegant flower and every time she had looked up today she had smiled seeing it standing there. She found it incredibly fitting because the flower was often used for funerals. Well had been used, now Molly had seen it a lot at weddings, too. Her best friend had told her she loved it because it meant beauty and adoration and that's why she had used it as her wedding bouquet. Molly could interpret the flower now any way she wanted and it all came down to the question of who had sent it. But then again, maybe she could just enjoy it and ask Sherlock to deduce the sender when he came around the next time. Even now when Molly could not see her Calla she smiled just thinking about it. Funny how something this small could make her whole day.

0:24

Molly heard her doorbell ringing the minute she was finished preparing for bed. She contemplated for a second to just ignore the sound but then her curiosity won over. It probably was Sherlock and one never knew what he'd do if one ignored him. So Molly walked to her door and opened it without checking first. This was a mistake she knew the second she saw who was standing on the other side. It was definitely not Sherlock. "Hello, darling. May I come in?" asked the Consulting Criminal, moving forward and pressing his body close to Molly, moving into the flat before she could protest. "You look lovely, ready for bed. Can I join you?" Molly closed the door and turned around, seeing the man remove his coat and laying it over the side of the couch. "What are you doing here?" she asked. She had been sure that she would not see him again. "Did you not get my message?" answered Moriarty, looking overly surprised. Molly furrowed her eyebrows. "Your message? No." she answered. There hadn't been a word from him at all. Moriarty was pouting but Molly realized that his facial expressions where all a bit too much to be real. "Now I have to shoot the messenger.", he said playfully. Then he turned serious. "I know for a fact that you have had the pleasure of finding my message. It told you of my adoration for your beauty." He had left his place next to the couch and had moved back to the door, back to Molly, standing directly in front of her. That's when Molly finally understood. The flower had been sent by Jim. "Oh. _Oh_." She blushed. "Thank you." Moriarty smiled and leaned forward, kissing her lightly. Molly was frozen. What should she do? She liked kissing him, god, she did. But she had made it clear to herself that he was not a good company. He was dangerous.

Unfortunately her body was more responsive to Moriarty than to her brain because she found she had deepened the kiss and Jim Moriarty was now pressing her against the door, his hands on her hips and his body firm against hers. But then Molly's brain took over and she stooped kissing him, trying to pull away. Jim groaned but let her stop it, however, he did not move away. Molly took a deep breath, trying to find her thoughts. "You … you can't just do that. You left me without a word. You are dangerous. You're a criminal. You lied to me. You can't just barge in…" Molly interrupted mid-rant when she saw Moriarty laughing silently. He was clearly amused, molly could see that and it made her even angrier. "What?", she bit out. Moriarty removed his right hand from her lips and stroked her hair. "You are adorable." He told her. Molly deflated. This was not what she had expected. Then she tried to muster the anger again. "Not helping." She said. Jim leaned forward and pecked her lips. "Honey, you're not sure if you're pissed because I left you or because I am criminal. You really need to get your priorities sorted out." This was said with a condescending smirk. Then Moriarty let her go and moved back to the couch, taking a seat. Molly really wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now. She leaned back against the door, closed her eyes and counted to 10.

When she opened her eyes again Jim Moriarty was still sitting on her couch and watching her. Molly only now realized that he was dressed in a suit, something totally different from the Jim she had encountered before. Right now he was loosening his tie and opening the first button on his button-down shirt. "He looks good enough to eat. Is it really that bad to give into him for another night?" Molly asked herself. Jim looked up. "Made a decision yet, honey? Can we move on to the good part?" He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. Molly laughed and moved over to him, holder her hand out. "As you said, I'm on my way to bed. Care to follow?" Molly knew it wasn't the smartest decision but she just couldn't help herself. There was something about Jim Moriarty that made it impossible to say no to. They had barely taken two steps towards her bedroom when Molly turned around again and patted her hands along Moriarty's upper torso. "Searching for my weapon? Honey, you know it's in my trousers."Molly grinned at that. "No, I'm searching for your phone. I want it turned off." Moriarty stilled her hands with his. "Sorry, no can do. But I promise to not answer it while we're having sex." Molly huffed and turned around, annoyed. Moriarty pressed his body against her back, nipping at her neck. "I won't even hear it while I'm with you. My world is narrowed down to you and me for that.", he whispered huskily. At that Molly smiled. She knew that Jim - like Sherlock - used flattery to get what he wanted but damn it, it was still nice to hear these things. She turned to him and kissed him, letting herself go and just enjoying what this man was willing to give.

7:01

Molly's alarm blared and she reluctantly opened her eyes. No sign of Jim just as she had expected. Molly wasn't stupid, she knew he wouldn't stay the night, or let her into his world. He did not want a girlfriend. But it was nonetheless nice to know that he cared enough about her to come to her for a second night. It also did something for her self-esteem, even though this was silly. "Well, you're good in bed. How does that help your self-esteem?", the rational part of her brain asked, but the rest of her felt flattered.

When Molly entered her kitchen after a long, refreshing shower that she needed to wake up - Jim and her had spent a good part of the night being up and enjoying themselves - she once again found a note on her kitchen table. This made her smile. Maybe it could become a routine. "No, because you won't let it happen again." Said her brain. Molly found that the rational part of herself and the rest started to sound like two different personalities. "Two shags and already the guy is helping you become schizophrenic.", Rational Part could be sarcastic, funny. Molly laughed to herself. Then she picked up the note. What did Jim Moriarty have to tell her?

_Darling, excuse my leaving but I could not stay._

_I have the number of my favorite sniper on speed dial._

_Thank you for the lovely night, Jim _

Molly was perplexed by this note. Did the middle part really tell her another secret? Or was it a threat? No, the message was exactly the same as the first one, where he had told her about his experiment with Sherlock. He really was telling her secrets. This made Molly happier than it should. Maybe, just maybe, there really was a connection between them. A strange one, one that would - and could - never lead to a relationship. Nonetheless, it was a connection. Instantly Molly thought about the note on her ice-cream and opened her freezer, looking for a second not but found none. Ah, well, he would surely not repeat everything. Molly made her way to her kettle to start breakfast, when she found the second note in her favorite mug. _I don't like to be repetitive. See what you do to me?_ Molly was touched. He was really being sweet.

Over her cup of tea Molly came to three conclusions:

_1) It was more than likely that Jim Moriarty might come again to see her._

_2) She should definitely stick with her 3 dates and break-up- story and never mention to anyone that she enjoyed more than that with Jim Moriarty._

_3) She would enjoy this thing with Jim as long as it lasted or as long as she wasn't involved in - or knew about - anything he did for a living._

There she had the new rules with which she could live. Nobody needed to know about that, she could feel good about the evenings or nights Jim choose to stay and nobody was hurt, including herself because she did not have any kind of expectations. With that Molly felt accomplished and ready for the day ahead.


	3. Realizing

I don't own anything but the plot.

1:47

Molly heard her phone go off, opened her eyes just a little and saw nothing but darkness. She wondered who would call in the middle of the night. Not even Sherlock would do that, would he? Eyes closed again she fished with her hand and found the phone. "Hello?" "Molly, it's Greg. Are you alright?" "Am sleeping. It's…" Molly mumbled, opening her eyes and looking at the phone. "…a quarter to two." She finished her sentence with a yawn. The people in her life were really not the most considerate, she thought. "Molly, something happened. Sherlock and John met the bomber and as it turns out he is an ex-boyfriend of yours. Jim, I think John said." This helped wake Molly up. "What?" she asked a little panicked. "What happened?" She heard Greg talk to someone on his side then he returned to her. "Moriarty, his real name, kidnapped John and put some bombs around him. Both him and Sherlock are okay, because before anything happened Moriarty walked away, leaving them at the pool." This did not make any sense. "Why?" she asked, but wasn't sure what exactly she meant with it. There were so many things she could mean. "Molly, listen. I need your statement tomorrow; I will tell you the details then. But I need to know you are okay." Greg sounded stressed. This was a terrible situation for him to be in, Molly realized. Not only were two of his friends victims of a crime but another acquaintance of his was the ex-girlfriend of the criminal. "Don't worry, Greg, I'm okay." she tried to reassure him. "We only went out on three official dates, hung out a few times. I don't think I'm a part of his plans." Greg sighed. "Good. At least you are safe. I'll make sure there will be someone patrolling your area, anyways. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." With this Greg hung up, giving Molly no time to answer. She smiled. It was nice to know that someone cared.

She had barely closed her eyes again when her phone rang again. Molly saw that it was John and answered. "Hey, John. Are you alright?" John barked out a laugh. "I wanted to ask you the same." Molly smiled again. It was really nice to know people cared, even though she would prefer they cared more at times when she was not sleeping. "I'm alright. Greg called right before you; he lets people patrol my neighborhood. But I don't think it's necessary." Molly told Sherlock's blogger. "The better question is: are you alright? Greg said you were kidnapped." John sighed. He sounded a lot like Greg, actually, thought Molly. "Well, I'm still a little shaken.", admitted John. "But nothing happened, so that's good. Could have ended a lot worse. But Moriarty - that's Jim's real name – just left right in the middle of the showdown, so to speak." Molly did not know what to say. The few bits of information that she got all sounded strange, insane. Jim Moriarty was a whole lot more dangerous than she had thought, it seemed. "Well, at least you and Sherlock are safe now.", she finally said, feeling relieved. John sounded that way. "Yeah. I gotta go, just wanted to make sure you are safe. Good night." He hung up without letting Molly answer and she felt a little annoyed. She got that Greg and John were stressed but a little common courtesy of letting her end the conversation wasn't too much to ask, was it? Then she laid her phone back on her nightstand, feeling sure that this was the last call she got for the night. The only other person involved in this was Sherlock, and he wouldn't even think that he could call and check on her.

Molly once again closed her eyes and snuggled under her blanket enjoying the warmth of her bed. She was just drifting off as her phone made another noise. This time, however it was the sound of an incoming message. Internally, Molly was rolling her eyes. Probably just spam, but who knew? after this night, it might have been something important. Molly reluctantly opened her eyes again und grabbed her phone. 1 new message. Right before she could click on the icon, her phone vibrated again and she now had 2 new messages. Well, wasn't she popular tonight? When she clicked on the message icon she saw that the first message was from an unknown number and the second one from Sherlock. Surprised, Molly opened the second one first. _Your ex-boyfriend is dangerous, be watchful. Close windows and doors. SH_ "He does care, at least a little." Molly thought while reading this short message. This message wasn't much but for Sherlock it was the equivalent to confessing Molly was some kind of friend. Molly felt warm all over after reading this message. She may not have the best luck with boyfriends but the few men in her daily life were more than nice. Showing her that she cared, that they thought about her well-being. With this nice feeling of having friends that care, she opened the second message, believing that it was spam. But she had apparently forgotten that there was one man in her life that hadn't checked up on her yet. Not surprising because he was the criminal the three others had warned her about. _Darling, don't worry. _Oh, wow. Molly needed to take a deep breath. This officially made the fourth man in her life checking up on her, making sure she was okay. Or his strange variation on the sentiment. Once again Molly couldn't help but compare Sherlock and Jim Moriarty. Both had sent a message, both did not come out and say what the meant, but managed to convey their feeling anyway. And both had Molly feeling loved and cared for, sending a little shock down her spine just knowing that they thought of her after such an eventful evening. God, she was screwed. And the worst part was, if she had o pick whose message was most welcomed, she had a hard time deciding. What did that they about her? Not even a few nights with Jim Moriarty and he had managed to be as important to her as Sherlock, something no man had achieved since she had met the Consulting Detective. And with that thought Molly knew, the time for sleep was over because she clearly needed to think about her priorities and her sanity. With a deep groan Molly stood up from her bed, slipped into a pullover and slippers and made her way to the kitchen for a cup of tea and some soul cleansing thinking.


	4. The Lie

I don't own anything but the plot.

10:30

Molly sat in Greg Lestrade's office and waited for him to finish his tale of the last night. There had been bombs and snipers and an insane Moriarty, who just walked away because he got a better offer. Finally all these little parts made more sense than they had last night during her phone conversations with John and Greg, but the man factor stayed the same: Jim Moriarty was extremely dangerous and quite certainly mentally insane. "So, Molly, I need you to make an official statement about your relationship with Jim Moriarty. I'm sorry." Greg said with an apologetic smile. "If you rather it was someone different, someone you don't know…" He trailed of, not knowing if Molly would be relieved or offended by his offer. Molly smiled reassuringly at him. "Really it's fine. Not that there are embarrassing details or anything to make any of us uncomfortable." She giggled a little unsure. Greg turned a little red but nodded. "Okay, then tell us all about how you met."

Half an hour later Molly had told Greg everything about the first two dates, the times they had hung out at the hospital canteen and the disaster with Jim meeting Sherlock. Now she had to decide if she wanted to let the story end the way she had told anyone who had asked or if she would be safer in telling Greg the truth about the two nights with Moriarty. But it wasn't really a question, was it? She would keep these two mind-blowing nights as her special secret. It wouldn't really help Scotland Yard anyways, would it? "… and when I met him at The Foy and asked about being gay he kind of squirmed and talked about something different. I just didn't see that going anywhere and we left shortly after." This was as close to the truth as Molly could bear. "We didn't even order anything before we left. The next day I was looking for him at the IT department, thinking maybe we could talk about all of this, maybe be friends, but he had not shown up to work. His number also did not work any longer. Well, that is all I know about Jim from IT." Molly finished her tale with a little smile, partly embarrassed. It really wasn't the most flattering story, especially if one left the part out where Moriarty was seemingly interested enough to come back to her, leaving her messages. And even with this last, secret part, the story wasn't the most flattering to her ego. Being the booty-call for an insane criminal? Yeah, well, if he was as hot and charming and awfully good in bed as Jim Moriarty… Greg cleared his throat, snapping Molly out of her thoughts, blushing. But she guessed that Greg took it as embarrassment from being used and having to tell him. "Thank you, Molly. I think that's it. You don't seem to be further involved than being a stepping stone to Sherlock." He cringed after having said that. "I'm really sorry, you know." he continued. "Men are stupid if they don't see how great you are." Greg patted her hand clearly trying to make her feel better and Molly appreciated him extremely. It was such a nice thing to say and do. "Thank you, Greg."

12:47

Molly finally stepped into her office for the first time today. The day had been crazy with lab work, a post-mortem and the questioning by Greg Lestrade. Now Molly just wanted to go over the rest of the paperwork and then take her break. She was thinking about how much coffee was too much, when she entered the little room. Not having slept that much the night before - she barely got 4 hours – she was already exhausted and wishing she could sleep. Maybe instead of eating lunch she could take a nap in the staff room? Molly sat down at her desk, finally looking up to gather the correct forms and found a bunch of flowers standing right in front of her. It was a white orchid, a pink cosmos, an orange gerbera daisy and a yellow zinnia. Molly couldn't help the smile that spread over her face. He hadn't only thought about her last night but today as well. This was a wonderful surprise, a bright and colorful reminder that at least one person in her life desired her. Even if this someone had a more than questionable job. Molly felt a fresh energy rush through her, the desire to eat and sleep temporarily forgotten. She started her computer to look up which message Moriarty had sent her this time. A little while later she had looked up all the flowers - made easy by a card that was put into the bouquet telling her the name of each of them:

_Cosmos - peace and tranquility. (A soothing gesture toward someone feeling anxious.)_

_Gerbera daisy – hopeful of the future_

_Zinnia – thinking of someone_

_Orchid – romantic desires_

Summarized the message Jim Moriarty had sent Molly was that she should not worry about anything - him? - and that he was thinking about her and their future relationship. It made Molly giddy to think about the time and work Jim had had by finding the right flowers to tell her his message. But after a few minutes of enjoying it the real world came crushing in around Molly. This was a bomber, someone who had tried to blow up her friends. How could she forgive him? She stood up and tried to ignore the flowers, deciding to take that lunch break now and maybe clear her head a little. And perhaps also her heart, because it seemed to like the criminal.


	5. The Talk

I don't own anything but the plot.

8:34

Molly came home from the graveyard shift, feeling extremely exhausted. The last week with these bad shifts, having abnormally many people dead, she just wanted to fall into bed and sleep for the next two days. The well-deserved weekend for her – Monday and Tuesday for others - was supposed to entail a lot of sleep and lounging around in bed, reading. That may not sound like the most interesting plans but Molly liked her alone time, catching up on her reading after these tiring graveyard shifts. When she had the usual day shifts she was a lot more social, going out for drinks and shopping, but the weekends after the long week of different sleeping times were always spend lounging about her flat. Imagine her surprise when she opened her door and found someone sitting on her couch, petting Toby who was purring and enjoying the attention immensely. Molly quickly closed the door, nobody could see him here. Well, not there was anybody who would see him, she thought. It wasn't like her door was under surveillance. Or at least she hoped that this wasn't the case. All the while the man on the couch was grinning at her, petting the cat and not saying a word. However, he looked extremely amused by her antics. And maybe a little pained. Molly leaned back against the door and took a deep breath."What are you doing here?" she pressed out between tight lips. She really could not believe him. It had only been two weeks since he tried to blow Sherlock and John up. She closed her eyes before she spoke again, opting to not see him. "You should not be here. You tried to blow up my friends." And nearly blow up yourself. But she did not say that last bit, she did not want to seem like she cared. "Open your eyes, Molly." The gentleness of his voice made her snap open her eyes in confusion. Anger she could have dealt with but this? He was standing in front of her holding one hand out for her. When she did not take it she took it himself, interlacing their fingers. The he tucked lightly, getting her to move away from the door. "Come on, you're tired and I would like to go to bed, too." He slowly led her to her bedroom and Molly was too surprised to do anything about it. She had imagined this being a big break up scene, maybe him being angry and scary. This was all wrong but also so nice. And he was right, she was more than tired. The scary conversation could wait until she had slept. Well, probably not because by then he would have left already. Whatever, she now was not in the mood to fight.

Molly hadn't realized that they were standing in front of her bed now and Jim was helping her shed her clothes. When she was dressed in only her bra and underwear Jim let her to her side of the bed and tucked her in. He kissed her on the nose and moved away. Molly watched him tiredly. He undressed himself, laying his suit on the spare chair in her room. Molly thought about the contrast: her clothes were lying in heaps on the floor where she had let them fall. But his suit was probably worth more than all of her clothes combined. He joined her n bed with only his boxers on - once again a designer brand - which made her chuckle lightly. As did his behavior. The great criminal -who tried to blow up her friends, she could not forget that - was snuggling up to her to sleep. Jim Moriarty was spooning Molly Hooper. What a strange thing to happen. But his warmth and Molly's exhaustion finally took over and she was asleep nearly instantly. Her last thought was: "Isn't this nice?"

14:02

Molly woke up and was alone in bed. This really didn't surprise her but a little part of her was disappointed. She stretched and rolled around, thinking about whether she should get up or sleep at little longer her gaze caught something unusual. There were still parts of Jim's suit hanging on her chair. His button-down and jacket, as well as his shoes were still in her room, which could only mean Jim was still here. Molly grinned. This was new! But before Molly would go in search for him she needed to use the bathroom to freshen up. A few minutes later she wandered into the kitchen, now dressed in her favorite pajamas, dark blue with red roses on them. At the kitchen table she found Jim, a mug of coffee in front of him, reading the paper. Like she imagined, he was only wearing his trousers. It was a really nice and quite frankly domestic picture and Molly had a hard time wrapping her head around that. When Molly entered the room Jim lowered the paper a little, smiled at het but quickly returned his attention back to the paper. Molly sighed, walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup. She sat down at the other side of the table, looking at him and thinking how at best to have the conversation they did not have before sleeping. But she was soon distracted by a fresh looking, bright red wound at his shoulder that she only now noticed. She stood up to take a closer look. Standing next to him, slightly touching his shoulder got Jim's attention. "What happened?" "Oh, darling, you really don't want to know." said Jim with a large, fake smile. Molly frowned. "Yes, I want to know. Have you seen a doctor?" The wound looked bad, especially because of the lack of medical attention. She guessed the wound had needed stitches, or at least some butterfly bandages. Jim smiled at her. "Yes, actually I did go to a doctor." He said playfully. "But she fell asleep." Molly scoffed. "If you had said anything I would have tended to your wound first." She probed the flesh around the wound to see if there was anything else. Jim used this closeness and her bend down face and put his arms around her, and kissing her, distracting her from his injury. Molly let him for a moment then she pushed him away. "No! I need to clean this and wrap it properly." She went and got her first-aid-kit. Jim was lounging on his chair, sipping his coffee, but the paper lay forgotten on the table. Molly thought that he must feel pain or at least a little unease but there was nothing in his behavior that suggested that. Strange.

"Did you take any medication?" she asked carefully. That would explain a lot, actually. A lot of heavy painkillers mellowed the patient down, and Jim's behavior at her flat was extremely kind and friendly and normal. "I'm not using drugs." Jim said. "Not exactly the question I asked." Molly answered, still fiddling with his wound. "Do you ever just answer a question?" She had realized that he mostly just talked about other things, sidestepping any questions she had asked him. "Do I?" Now Jim was grinning, Molly wasn't as amused. She glared at him and bandaged him up. Then she sat at her table, drinking her coffee. Jim's grin got wider. "I'm having my generous day. Ask one question and you get an honest answer." He told her. Molly thought. What was the most important thing right now? She had a list of questions she liked answered but found that right now one was the most important. "What really happened to your shoulder?" Jim looked surprised. Definitely not the question he had anticipated. Molly had surprised herself; she thought that she might have to straighten out her priorities. "My sniper did not react well to something I said." Jim was watching her expression. Molly frowned. "This is a stab wound not a gunshot." She explained to him. This was her expertise, he could not fool her; that much to his honest answers. Jim smiled a real smile instead of a grin. "He was standing in front of me, there was a knife nearby, he got carried away." "And you are not angry about that?" "Oh, he will be punished, don't worry. And that were two honest answers. You can feel lucky." Molly sighed. After having made sure that Jim was cared for properly, her thoughts had come back to the elephant in the room. Jim is watching her, she knows it, but she can't look at him. She looks at the paper instead. "I don't think I can do this any longer." She tells him. "I told myself it would be okay as long as I don't know about your crimes or if I wasn't involved. Now it's both." Her voice is sad and she is merely whispering but she knows that Jim can hear her. There is a lone tear making her way across Molly's face. Suddenly Jim is kneeling next to her chair and looking at her from below, catching her eye. "Seb stabbed me because I told him I had found someone worth having sentiments for." The criminal confessed. "He is jealous of you. He has been living with me for years, the only stable in my life for so long. And despite that, sentiments, feelings, are foreign to me. You are the exception." He stood up, walking slowly out of the kitchen. Molly was sitting there, crying softly. This was the worst break up in her life. How could she let him go after that? How could she stay with him after knowing what he did?

Jim was dressed and walking through Molly's living room when Molly came out of her kitchen, looking for him. He did not say anything, did not look at her. Molly was silent, too. What else was there to say? Jim took his coat and was already at her front door when Molly made a sound. "Jim." She rasped, nearly not able to speak because she was now crying furiously. He stood still but didn't turn around. His voice betrayed no emotion. "Do not worry, darling, I will not contact you again. I never make the same mistake twice." He opened the door. Molly was sure she had never before crossed the distance of her living room faster. "No." she cried out and slammed the door. Jim looked puzzled for a second before his face became impassive again. "No, no, no, no." Molly sobbed. She stood before him, blocking the exit. The thought of never seeing him again, never having him sent her flowers, never kissing him again was too much. Molly didn't know how he had managed to get her to fall in love with him so fast but it seemed that she was not able to let him go. "Don't ever involve me into your work again." Jim was studying her, his face blank. Molly was worried for about a second. Then she thought about how similar Jim and Sherlock were and that Jim probably was exactly as uncomfortable with her tears as Sherlock would be. She came forward, grabbed his head with her hands and kissed him. Jim did not respond, standing there and letting Molly cling to him, to his lips. She stopped the kiss and looked at him, but she did not let go of him. She searched his eyes and for a second she could see the same pain that she felt before his gaze became blank again. But it had been enough for Molly to know he felt it, too. So she kissed him again and again and finally he responded. He did really well in hiding emotions on his face and in his behavior, but he definitely could not hide the emotions in his kissing. He was kissing her wildly, desperately. However, Molly didn't care because she was feeling the same, holding onto him, never daring to let him go. Finally his hands came to her body, trying to get her pajama top off without breaking contact. Molly herself was in the process of undressing Jim the same way. They stumbled, nearly falling to the floor, never breaking contact. Even though Jim was equally enthusiastic Molly feared that he would leave if she let go of his body. Somehow they found themselves on the floor before her front door, both only partially clothed. Molly wasn't sure how that had happened but she also couldn't care less.

A few minutes later found Jim Moriarty and Molly still lying on the floor in front of her door, catching their breaths. It was the first time in the last minutes that Molly was willing to let go of Jim. She was lying there, watching him taking deep breaths and looking absolutely gorgeous. Then he sat up and Molly's breath hitched but he only smiled at her. "Bathroom." He explained and left. Molly looked around and finally realized that she was naked and lying on the floor. She grinned at herself but then decided to be sensible and stood up. When Jim returned from the bathroom, Molly was sitting on the couch, once again dressed in her pajamas. He cocked one eyebrow at her. Molly had his suit in her hands, clutching it to her front. "Am I getting my clothes back?" he asked amused. Molly shook her head. "I'm making sure you won't leave." She told him. "Well, actually, I don't have a problem with working around naked. I love people starring at me and admiring me." Molly's grin widened. "Excellent. New rule: you're not allowed to wear clothes anymore in my flat." Jim shrugged and sat down on the couch next to her. Molly pecked him on the mouth but then scooted a little to her left to get some distance between them. "I don't want to ruin the mood but I think there was something we needed to talk about." She explained her behavior. Jim scoffed. "No." he said. "No?" "No, not here." Molly looked at him surprised. "Then where?" she asked. She wasn't sure this was a conversation to be had in public. Nevermind, that they actually couldn't go out in public together anytime. Jim had stood up and offered her his hand. "If you really want to have this tedious talk, we do it in bed naked. Otherwise I must decline my part in the conversation." He told her. He sounded surprisingly business-like for someone standing naked in her flat. Molly sighed. "Okay." She stood up and took his hand, still clutching his suit with her other hand.

Jim climbed into bed and looked pointedly at her as she wanted to do the same. "I was very clear about the conditions for this conversation the first time. I will not repeat myself." He told her snootily. Molly blushed and started to undress again. Finally naked she joined Jim who was eagerly awaiting her. They kissed for a few minutes before Molly sat up against her headboard. Jim, however, reminded lying; his head on her chest, one hand on her hip, the other on her belly. "So…" Molly started but then stopped again. Thinking about it she was a little unsure what they should discuss. Normally, she would ask about exclusiveness, defining the relationship, meeting friends. This all seemed out of the question with Jim. Nobody of her friends could know she was still dating - no, seeing - the Consulting Criminal. That meant, she wasn't going on dates with him, just seeing him in her flat, whenever he felt like it because she had no way to contact him on her own. "Is there a possibility that you can give me your number?" she asked tentatively, not really expecting a positive answer. Thinking about their relationship was - mildly put - disappointing. She was too involved for the circumstances. This was nothing more than a prolonged one-nightstand. Jim looked up at her, his brow furrowed. He studied her face, her slightly slouched frame. "I'll get a phone for you." He told her then. "I can't promise that I'm always available but you get a chance to reach me, leave me messages." Molly smiled brightly. This was absolutely unexpected but really nice. Today Jim seemed so normal, more like a boyfriend. Her thought must have been plain on her face because Jim's gaze was once again guarded. "I'm not your boyfriend and we are not dating." He told her cruelly. Molly's face fell. His face was still right at her breasts and he sucked a nipple into his mouth and kissing it a few times. "However, I don't want you to date anyone else. You're mine!" he said and underlined his statement with a passionate kiss. He dragged Molly in a laying position, to get a better angle to kiss her.

After some moments Molly pulled back and sat up again. Jim kept fondling her breasts. "Anything else?" he asked, clearly put off that she had pulled away. He kissed her nipple, clearly not expecting her to keep having this conversation. Molly grinned. "Well.." she said cheekily. Jim groaned, but kept kissing her body. "Are you going to show me your flat?" Molly asked. She absolutely did not expect of him to do that but it couldn't hurt to ask, could it? Jim stopped everything he did and looked at her. "No, that's not possible." He told her earnestly. "It's too dangerous. For both of us." Molly's smile slowly vanished. She had expected him to say no, she had wanted to tease him a little, but him telling her it was dangerous - that she had not expected. It only once again drove the point across that this thing - relationship, fling -was not normal. Jim looked at Molly's face. Then he moved himself up a little, so that he could kiss her on the lips. It was a loving kiss, gentle, without the passion and teasing he had shown before."I'm sorry." Jim whispered between kisses. "I told you I couldn't be your boyfriend and go on dates." Now it really sounded apologetic, like something that he also did not like; something he would have liked to be different. It was a contrast to the harsh way he had said it before. Molly was touched by this and finally gave into his kisses, letting him take control over the situation.

18:12

When Molly woke up again, her bed was empty except for her. She had expected that but it was also kind of depressing, never having him wake up next to her. But now she knew where to go first, the kitchen table. As always he had left a note.

_Darling, excuse my leaving but I could not stay._

_I have never let anyone be this close to me, nor have I wanted to do it._

_Thank you for the lovely day, Jim _

Molly smiled at this. It showed once again that he regarded her as more than a fling. Maybe she could convince him that feelings weren't that bad. With this thought Molly got into her shower, thinking about what she had to do the rest of the day. She had to go grocery shopping, maybe clean and wash clothes. She was on her way out when someone rang her doorbell and she had a delivery. It was 12 light pink roses with one deep red one. A really lovely bouquet. She didn't even need to check what this meant. Light pink meant young love and hope for a relationship, deep red was a passionate love. Molly took the flowers and set the vase with them on her living room table where she could see it best. It made her smile to think that this may not be your typical relationship but it was a sure sign that Jim was more invested than he had told her.


	6. Surprise

I don't own anything but the plot.

12:43

Molly had not heard from Jim in a few weeks. She wasn't sure what happened. At first she had thought that this was normal, he couldn't come by too often because he was a wanted criminal. But after two weeks of not contact, no sign from him the doubts began. She might have lost him after this last day. She had pushed too hard, she knew he did not want this. After the last weekend Molly had decided to let it go, try to move on. At least she still had Sherlock in her life. And Jim really had been a fluke; she had seen him only a few times, not as if that really had been a relationship. Right before Molly was ready for her lunch break her boss appeared in her office. "Molly, I've seen that you want tomorrow and Friday off. Just wanted to tell you, it's approved. You have worked so much these last few months, I'm happy you want to take some time." Molly looked at him perplexed. She had not asked for these two days. It did not seem as if her boss noticed her stunned expression. "What do you want to do with this long weekend?" he continued asking. "Aehm…" Molly said. "Are you going on a short holiday? I should do that some time, too." Molly smiled at him. "I'm not sure yet, I just thought about relaxing." She said vague. She had a feeling being vague was the best. "Ah, last minute trips. The surprise where one lands is fun, isn't it?" her boss kept talking and Molly smiled and nodded. Then her phone beeped, signaling an incoming message. Molly excused herself and looked at her phone. One message from an unknown number. "Black car, 18:00, front of St Bart's." Well, wasn't that telling her everything. But despite the lack of information, Molly was excited because this clearly showed Jim had a surprise. With him her life was definitely more exciting. And the best part was that he had not forgotten about her altogether.

18:01

Molly exited the building after her shift and found a black limousine in front of the hospital. The windows were black, so she couldn't see inside. She slid into it and found that there was no one there. As soon as she had sat down the car started moving. Molly sighed. Don't tell me anything, why should you?" she thought sarcastically. But then she relaxed into the leather. There was no point in being angry. 45 minutes later the car stopped and Molly woke up. She hadn't realized that she had been sleeping but it wasn't surprising, driving always lulled her to sleep. The doors opened and Molly's eyes widened. She was at an airport, in front of a small plane. No security checks or anything, just this plane in front of her. Oh and this stewardess holding the door open. "Miss Hooper." She greeted. Molly nodded. "Hello." "Come on, Miss Hooper. We are cleared already." The stewardess told her and Molly climbed out of the car and into the plane. It was a private jet with big, plush seats. She was ushered into ne and after they had taken off the stewardess reappeared. "Can I bring you something to eat?" Molly nodded. Yes, she was hungry. "I'm sorry." She stopped the woman from disappearing. "Where is this flight taking us?" she asked. The woman smiled. "I'm not allowed to tell you." Molly grimaced. But then nodded and the woman left for a moment and then came back with a snack. Molly had thought that she might get a real meal but she would take what she could get. After eating she found two medical magazines and two women's magazines so she could entertain herself. They were in the air for about three quarters of an hour when the stewardess appeared with a clothing's bag. "Miss Hooper, we are nearing our destination. Would you please change in this dress?" Molly nodded. Whatever Jim wanted he got. In the small toilet she changed into a beautiful dark green shift dress and black ballet flats. Molly was glad that Jim at least had recognized that she wasn't the high heels kind of person. In the bag she also found pearl earrings. Molly combed her hair and let it hang loosely around her shoulders. She looked good; she decided and returned to her seat.

Not 5 minutes later they landed and Molly was once again ushered into a black car. Molly had thought that this might be the case and had taken one of the medical magazines with her. The next half hour she read. It was 8:45 when they stopped again. The doors opened and Jim scooted into the car. "Hello, darling." Molly smiled at him but before she could say anything he had kissed her. The kiss was passionate and desperate and told her that he had missed her. Then he stopped and opened the car doors again, getting out and holding his hand out to Molly. "Come on, we have a reservation." Molly followed him and only now realized where she was: Paris. "You have flown me to Paris?" she asked surprised. Jim smiled. "4 days in the city of love. Are you happy, darling?" he asked and watched her face closely. Molly's whole face lit up and then she threw herself at him, kissing him hard. When the stopped Jim took her hand and led Molly inside of the restaurant they were standing in front of till now. Molly couldn't stop starring. It was beautiful and looked extremely expensive. But she guessed she didn't need to worry, if Jim flew her across the pond in a private jet he surely was more than rich. Molly decided she would enjoy this short trip and not worry about anything.

23:25

The evening had been wonderful, the food delicious and Molly felt extremely happy. Jim had been charming and the conversation between them had been filled with flirting but also intelligent conversation, which seldom happened together, at least in Molly's opinion. Either the men she dated were slightly dull but flirty, or the other way around. And now they were strolling along in a lovely Paris night, on their way to the hotel. Jim had taken her hand and linked their fingers. It was all so different from their behavior in London. Jim seemed like a complete different person, relaxed and free and absolutely not manic and dangerous. Not that he had been manic and dangerous in her presence since she discovered his real identity. "Why are we here?" she asked the man next to her. "Don't you like it, darling? Paris, the most beautiful city on earth." He spread his free arm wide and looked around. Molly nodded. It really was a lovely city. "And you deserved a vacation, honey. All work and no play makes you dull." He grinned. "That's why I always play." His wide grin was exactly like Molly remembered, slightly strange but also so happy. This was Jim, the real one, not the tame version he had shown in the restaurant.

Molly stopped their slow walk and turned to Jim, kissing him. Jim didn't hesitate and brought his arms around her. Their kiss turned passionate in seconds and Jim growled slightly, backing away. "Just 5 more minutes, love. Come on." He took Molly's hand and dragged her practically through the streets till they were in front of an old building, their hotel. Another minute and the elevator had brought them into the suite. Jim had used the trip in the elevator to return to kissing Molly, but she stopped him when they stumbled into the suite. It was large and expensive and gorgeous. The main room they were in had a large couch in front of big window overlooking Paris. And the sight of the city at night was breathtaking. Molly entangled herself from Jim and walked to the window, standing there and enjoying the view. Jim was not happy. He came up behind her and opened the zipper on her dress, letting it fall to the floor. Then he leaned in and kissed her neck. When she still did not move he bit slightly, snaked his arm around her front and turned her around. "Attention on me." He said through gritted teeth. Molly smiled, he was jealous of the scenery. But then she gave into him, and followed him into the bedroom. It was, after all, several weeks since she had had the pleasure of doing this with him. And she was relatively sure he would be here when she woke up.


	7. At Work

I don't own anything but the plot.

18:26

It was Sunday evening and Molly had now come home from her four days in Paris. She brought the new suitcase into her bedroom and sorted her new clothes. Jim had kidnapped her without anything to change and then decided to go on a shopping spree with her first thing in the morning when they had woken up together and had breakfast in bed. He had left her alone in the evening and Molly had enjoyed just walking through the city by herself, sitting in a small bistro for dinner. These four days had been extremely wonderful and Molly had realized how much she had needed a break from everything. It hadn't hurt that she was having the kind of holiday she could not afford herself, living in a luxurious suit, buying clothes at Avenue des Champs-Élysées, eating at the Ritz. Jim had opened a whole new world for her and she had been too charmed by this and his behavior to say anything when he left her in the evenings to "do business". Now thinking about it she knew that she should have said anything, but then she just did not want to be involved. And god, had it been great to get to know Jim's lifestyle. Molly now had a better understanding of him and she thought it had been good for their relationship because they had spent time together outside her flat, getting to know one another. Slowly she began to believe that this relationship might have a future. If only some variables changed, him quitting his job would be great, for example.

8:15

After a good night's sleep Molly came back to work in a relaxed mood. She found a bouquet of sunflowers on her desk, this time with a card. "Darling, thinking about the last four days." She smiled. This was such a nice thing to do, sending her flowers whenever he wanted to tell her something. Her last boyfriend had sent text messages instead. This way the start of a new work week was more motivating.

Three hours later and Molly was in the morgue, stitching up her latest body when the door was thrown open and Sherlock strode in. "I need fingers, Molly. At least 4, 7 would be best." He told her. Molly blushed. "Good morning, Sherlock." She squeaked then turned to John, who was following Sherlock as usual. "Good morning, John." John smiled at her and greeted her. Then he turned to Sherlock. ""not good." He told him. "At least try to be polite." Sherlock scoffed and stood there, arms behind his back, slightly rolling on his feet back and forth. John sighed and turned to Molly, who finished the body and packed him away in the freezer. "So, Molly, how was your short holiday? What did you do?" John asked pleasantly. Molly smiled. "Oh, it was great." She started but was interrupted by Sherlock. "Please, John, if you have to talk about nonsense, talk about stuff that is not plain obvious." Once again John sighed loudly and Molly blushed even brighter red. "But…how…what?" she stuttered. Sherlock looked at her. "You have been away for these four days, another country, France. There are no signs of any sunburn and you're wearing new clothes, so it had been a city trip: this means Paris. Your clothes are a lot more stylish and fitting than your normal clothes, which means there has been someone with you. A man, boyfriend who's well off. Bought you these because you could not afford these labels. He's still trying to impress you, so this is a new relationship, hence why we don't know about him, John. Don't look put off." Sherlock had turned to John shortly. Molly was gaping at Sherlock. It was fascinating what he could read from her appearance alone. "So, Molly had a nice holiday in Paris. Can we get back to the fingers, now? I need them in the lab, please." With these parting words Sherlock moved out of the morgue.

John and Molly looked at each other. John cleared his throat. "A new boyfriend then?" he asked. Molly nodded the stopped. "Not really." She admitted. "I'm not sure, actually." She moved to one of the refrigerators to look for finger. "Why are you not sure?" John asked. "Spending a nice weekend in Paris sounds like a new relationship kind of thing." Molly smiled. "Oh, it was really nice and I like him. But I don't see a future for us, you know." "Why not?" "It's his work." Molly grinned. It was nice to talk about it, to get a second opinion, even though she had to gloss over some facts. "And if I can't see a future why bother, you know." She told John. This was one of the main reasons she wasn't sure if the thing with Jim was good for her. John seemed to think about it. "You like him and you like spending time with him. The only problem is his job?" John asked. "If you put it like that, it doesn't seem so bad, does it?" answered Molly, having found 6 fingers and putting them in a bag. The duo walked out of the morgue to the lab. Molly decided to be a bit more open. "I'm not sure if his job is ethical and if I can live with that. He doesn't tell me much about it, which is good, but still." Molly tried to explain. John took a deep breath. "Oh, that's hard." They both walked in silence for a moment. Then Molly interrupted John's thinking. "But you know, he really is so charming and I like him a lot actually. How can I break that up?" John smiled at her. "Just know that we have your back. Sherlock, Greg, me." "Thanks, John. I know, but it's nice to hear it. I just have to think about this dilemma a little more." They had arrived at the lab where Sherlock was already waiting, pacing the floor. "Finally." He exclaimed. The rest of the morning the three worked in the lab, not talking about Molly's relationship any longer. But Molly realized that there still was a way Sherlock influenced her behavior, she wasn't really over him. And what exactly did that say about her feelings for Jim? Molly sighed. Tonight she might have to have more thinking to do.


	8. The Lists

I don't own anything but the plot.

20:26

Molly had eaten, turned the TV on a romantic comedy for background noise and had a glass of wine ready. Then she took a paper and her favorite pen and started working in her list. She was sure if she only wrote down all positive and negative points for a relationship with Jim Moriarty she might find some clarity. And then she could also do the comparison to Sherlock that had bothered her all day. Could it be that these two were kind of the same person, only the good and the bad side of the coin? The bad side interested in Molly, the good one not interested in anyone? It would explain why Molly was so drawn to both of them.

_Both were good looking, although the difference in appearance was extreme, except for their fashion sense which dictated suits. _

_Both had an air of superiority, were brilliant and had no problem insulting others, using others for their own gain. _

_Both had flirted with her only to get their ways. _

_Both were unusual insofar as bringing excitement to her life. Unpredictable. _

"It seems I have a type." Molly thought, reading through this comparison of the two men in her heart. No wonder, she had fallen for Jim so hard in such a short time. She had been falling for the same type for quite some time, only in a different human form. Molly took a deep gulp from her wine. This couldn't be choosing good or bad? Because if she looked at it this way she couldn't keep seeing Jim, he clearly was the bad side. Molly sighed and took another gulp of the wine. "But I want to keep Jim." She thought defiantly, like a little child. Then a thought occurred. Nothing was ever strictly black or white. There were a lot of grey tones. Sherlock had been unnecessary cruel, making him not _the Good One_. And Jim had shown mercy, had been nice and helpful, showing good qualities. Molly looked at her glass of wine. It was nearly empty and she felt a lot more relaxed.

When Molly had refilled her glass she decided to get started on the list of pro and con to dating Jim. She now knew that she wasn't over Sherlock but that this might not be the turning point for negative decision concerning Jim.

**Pro:**

I like being around him

He is charming

He is intelligent

Sex is amazing

Flirty

Feeling confident around him

Flowers

Thinking about me

Feeling sexy around him

Toby likes him

Good looking

He's interested

Exciting life

Unpredictable

**Con:**

His job is criminal

He like being criminal

He is dangerous

He might be insane

I might be in danger

He is my friends enemy (tried to kill them)

No normal future, no wedding, no children

Unpredictable

Making the list hadn't taken as long as Molly had thought. Thinking about what to do with it was definitely the harder part. The Pro part was nearly double the cons. But were the cons more powerful? Could she just say 14:8, Pro wins? Or did she have to find a way to make each point count differently and then add all up? "This is hard." Molly thought frustrated, finishing up her second glass of wine and turning the TV off. The comedy was too cheerful, not helping at all. The next thing Molly tried was music, finding her favorite CD and playing that. Okay, not that this was any less cheerful but whatever, at least she liked it. And then it hit her. She liked Jim, why not continue as long as it lasted? This might not be how she had imagined her life, but it was a lot more exciting. Molly danced around in her flat, feeling better, happy. Well, she loved a criminal, so what?


	9. Free Day

10:12

Molly was sitting in her kitchen on her day off. She had slept late and was now enjoying a cup of coffee, a croissant with marmalade and her morning paper. She really liked to start her day off that way, reading, doing the crossword puzzle and just relaxing. She was already showered but her hair was still slightly damp and she was dressed in a comfortable dark brown trouser and a wildly patterned multi-colored jumper. Molly's plans for the day were to start the morning off slow and then go into town and do some Christmas shopping because it wasn't too long till then. Maybe she would call a friend to meet up tonight in a pub. Just seeing what the day will bring. Molly had only half finished her croissant when she heard someone on her front door. The someone did not knock or ring the bell which told her it was either Jim or Sherlock. Molly took a sip of her coffee and waited. Either of the men would surely walk right into the kitchen, knowing how she liked to spend her free mornings even though she never told either of them. It didn't even take a minute then Jim marched into her kitchen. He smiled at Molly and made his way over to her quickly, bent down and kissed her before she got the chance to say hello. Molly stood up, all the while kissing Jim, to make it easier for him. This their angle changed and their kiss deepened. Jim groaned and pulled her closer but then stopped the kissing and the hug. He grinned at her, winked and left the kitchen. Molly followed, believing that he was leading her to her bedroom. She was genuinely confused when he walked to her front door and left. With a quick step Molly followed him out of the door into the staircase. Jim was already a flight down. "What was that?" Molly asked loudly, leaning over the banister to see him. Jim looked up at her and smiled. "We were on a job when we drove through your street. I thought to say hi." Jim grinned but had kept walking. Molly smiled. This was really sweet of him. "Hi." she shouted to him right before he reached the door to her building. "Goodbye, darling", came his response, then the door fell close.

Molly walked back into her kitchen she found a not on the table. When had Jim left it? How come she hadn't noticed? Molly took it and read.

_Darling, excuse my leaving but I could not stay._

_I have a house in Kerry and one at the coast, as well as a flat in Dublin and London._

_Thank you for the lovely kiss, Jim._

Molly couldn't believe it. He came by just to kiss her during a job – even if it hadn't been as spontaneous as he claimed when he had time to write this note – and he told her something really profound about his life. Well, profound for Jim at least. Maybe someday he would show her one or more of these properties.

15:02

Molly was shopping for Christmas presents, as she had planned it. She now already had gifts for Greg, Mrs Hudson, John and Meena, her friend from work. She now only needed a present for Sherlock. And Jim? He had repeatedly told her he wasn't her boyfriend, so that should be out of the question. She wasn't even sure f she would see him around Christmas, other than this morning she hadn't heard from him since Paris. But then again, having a gift wouldn't hurt, would it? If she found something.

For Sherlock Molly had thought about a new scarf. He was always wearing one; Molly had seen him with one even in summer. Therefore, Molly went into a shop for men's clothing. She was browsing though the store even though the scarves were right next to the cash register. When she found the ties, Molly smiled. They reminded her of Jim. Since he wasn't Jim from IT any longer, she hadn't seen him in anything else but a suit. Molly let her eyes wander over the many ties when she saw one that was perfect for Jim. It was a dark black silk tie with a few tiny skulls on them. They were embroided on the silk with a dark grey. At first glance they weren't even noticeable. Molly decided that this was exactly what she had – not – been looking for. The perfect gift for Jim. Then Molly chose a light blue/purple-ish cashmere scarf for Sherlock and left the store feeling accomplished. It hadn't even taker her long and she felt confident that she had picked presents that everyone would like.

This day was great. Molly had been in a good mood since waking up but the day was turning out better and better. To reward herself – and because she believed that Jim would probably be back soon – Molly decided to pamper herself. She bought a body peeling, masks for her hair and face as well as a few candles. The rest of the day she would have a spa day in her bathroom.

19:45

Molly had finished pampering herself, feeling good and was now contemplating what to eat. She wasn't really in the mood to cook, but the usual take-out was too boring for such a nice day. Maybe ordering form the nice Italian place, it sounded a little more exotic. If she put it on a proper plate and ate at her table it would be as if she was there. Molly just wanted to call when she heard someone at the door. Putting her phone down, Molly waited for Jim to enter. Maybe he wanted something to eat, too. A moment later Jim walked in with two bags in his hands. "I brought dinner." he told her, showing the bags. Molly smiled while walking over and kissing him. "Perfect. I was just about to order." Jim grinned. "I know." Molly's smiled vanished. "How?" But Jim didn't explain, he just walked over to her kitchen, transferring the food on plates. Molly followed with a stern look on her face. "How?" she repeated, but a bit more forceful. "How did you know that?" "Don't worry, darling, just enjoy the food. It's delicious." Molly took a deep breath. This was really not acceptable, but she would look for cameras later. She sat down opposite form Jim. The usual casualness, the nice feeling of comfort and the little tingle of excitement were missing because Molly was slightly angry. She really didn't like to think there was someone watching her every move. Her flat was private. Jim also wasn't his usual self. Normally he was talkative and charming, always trying to make her laugh. Tonight he only sat and ate. to say there was an uncomfortable silence would be understated. Molly decided to try and safe this date. Small-talk, this might help to get them more comfortable again. "So, what are your plans for Christmas?" she asked. It was a typical topic two weeks before Christmas, one she had heard at least three times a day for the last week. But Jim totally froze.

He slowly looked up, lowered his fork and cleared his throat. His face turned blank. Molly watched him confused. Was there something wrong with her question? Then Jim spoke but it wasn't really Jim, it seemed more like Moriarty. "I already told you I'm not your boyfriend." he said icily. Molly was even more confused but now she also was annoyed. "Yes, I know. But I don't understand what it has to do with my question." she told him. Jim – Moriarty – cocked one eyebrow. "Oh, you don't understand? Don't be obvious, honey." Molly found it telling that he had changed the endearment form darling to honey. He had always called her darling, it seemed that he couldn't bear to say it now when he wanted to hurt her. But it didn't change the fact that he was acting so vicious to one simple question. "I just asked about Christmas. I really don't see the problem." she told him again. How could she avoid this fight if she didn't even understand what it was about? Jim had stood up, paced in the kitchen for a second then walked into the sitting room. Molly stayed in the kitchen, counting to ten, she had to be calm. Moriarty was dangerous and crazy. That she even made the distinction between Jim and Moriarty proved that. She didn't believe that she was in danger but being careful didn't hurt. So when she thought she could be calm enough to handle her not-boyfriend she walked out of the kitchen.

Apparently Jim Moriarty hadn't used the time to calm down. He had a piece of paper in his hand and read it. When he noticed Molly he shook it in her direction. "You made a list." His voice was mostly blank but Molly thought she detected a trace of hurt. That's when she recognized the paper. Her pro/con list of dating – seeing – Jim. She sighed. She was sure she had thrown it away after she had come to her conclusion. She truly didn't know what to do now. "For someone not sure about us you try awfully hard to domesticate me." he told her icily. Molly flinched. "I am sure about us." she tried to explain. "There is no us." Jim said. His blank face changed to a cruel grin. "Honey, don't flatter yourself." Molly tried to keep the hurt from her face but from the triumphant grin she had not succeeded. "I used you as long as it was fun." Jim kept talking. "But, honey, you sure aren't worth being domestic for." This made Molly cr. She really tried to keep herself together but hearing him say exactly what she had feared the most was too hard. He really only had used her. Then she looked up at him, she only now realized that he had used the word domestic two times. Both his insult and accusation had been called a variation of domestic. When Molly saw the grinning face of Jim Moriarty, clearly pleased with her tears, she realized there was nothing left to lose. "Have you only now realized that it sounded nice to you, having a girlfriend, being domestic. And that's your cue to panic." she asked. She thought she saw something flicker in his eyes but it passed too quickly to be sure. "Don't bother trying to psychoanalyze, honey. There was nothing real about all of it." With these words Jim took his coat and left the flat. That's when Molly lost it completely. She fell down sobbing. If he really had used her or had now panicked, either way he was lost to her. He would not come back. And that hurt the most.


	10. Christmas Part I

10:26

Sherlock strode into her lab the usual way: doors flying open, woosh of his coat and a quick explanation what he needed. No hello and curiously no John. "Hello Sherlock. Let me just put this away, then I'll find your stuff." Molly said, blushing slightly.. Luckily she had just finished her won experiment and today was a slow day. Sherlock removed his coat and scarf, fidgeting slightly while waiting but other than that being polite. Molly starred for a moment than realised what she was doing and stopped. "Where is John?" Molly asked while searching for all the parts he needed. "And what exactly are we doing here?" Sherlock scoffed. "Apparently John needs a break from being shot at. As if that has ever happened at the lab." Molly smiled. "Well, this one time…" But Sherlock interrupted her. "It was only a warning, no bullet left the gun." Molly smiled and arranged the demanded items. Sherlock did not sound like Sherlock at all, which told Molly that he was renarrating his conversation with John. Molly grinned to herself. It wasn't often that John needed a break, he had been a soldier after all, but there were times when he couldn't do it anymore. He had told Molly this once during lunch when he had come back from a case that had been especially murderous. "A little normalcy once in a while is helpful." he had said. Molly guessed the normalcy would also include not having Sherlock around. But every time John needed his freedom Sherlock would come to her lab and complain. These times were part of the reason Molly firmly believed that she and Sherlock were kind of friends.

The next two hours Sherlock and Molly worked at a fascinating experiment that Molly could use in her everyday work. During these hours Sherlock told Molly about his disdain for Christmas and complained that John not only wanted time for himself and had planned a Christmas party, but also wanted part of Christmas with his sister. Molly loved these moments, in between lab work, where Sherlock opened up and seemed like a normal person, talking about himself. Since John had entered the picture there had been less of such occasions. Normally Sherlock worked in silence while John and Molly conversed. But without John there Sherlock let Molly help him and sometimes even encouraged her to help, to tell her point of view on the results. They were both dedicated scientists which made them working together easy. Once again Molly was reminded how her crush on Sherlock had started. But the fascinating thing was while working Molly didn't blush and stutter at all, she was a professional.

When Sherlock left Molly was a lot happier then she had been for days. Doing something fascinating, talking to someone smart ad handsome, him hearing her opinion, this all had helped to boost her confidence, which had suffered greatly from the fight with Jim. Now Molly was even kind of excited for the Christmas party which she had dreaded before. Her friends would surely ask about her relationship. Thinking about that made Molly realize that Sherlock had not said anything about it, had not deduced her even. Strange. Half an hour later she was once again reminded that Sherlock could be nice. She had gotten a message from John. _I heard you broke up. Do you need to talk? I hope you're alright. JW_ So Sherlock had realized she had broken up with her boyfriend but had purposefully not made it worse, deduced anything unflattering or said anything. Sometimes Molly thought Sherlock knew how to behave around friends.

14:22

Molly only had a few hours until she was supposed to be at Baker Street which meant she now had to tackle the task of wrapping her presents. She had tried to stave off this challenge because she didn't like to wrap presents. She always had to work hard to make them look decent, and more often than not they still looked crocked and as if she had throwing them into the dryer before giving them. What made the task even harder this year was that she hadn't touched the gifts since the day she had bought them which meant that Jim's present was still among them. Being reminded of him wasn't helping Molly's mood at all. She still was extremely sad about the end of their relationship and the way it had ended. Despite this she had decided to move on. It was unhealthy and could only lead to disaster, she had told herself many times. Her life was better and less complicated without him.

Molly took a deep breath and searched for all the necessary supplies to wrap the presents, as well as the bags full of them. Then she took Jim's gift and starred at it for a second before she took it back to her bedroom and into the little box under her bed. This box had little mementos of her ex-boyfriends that she could not bear to throw away. In the box Jim's notes had found a permanent place and now the tie would join them. Then Molly returned to her living room and started wrapping. First she wrapped Greg's present because it was a book and these are always the easiest to wrap. Well, if they aren't hardcovers with sharp edges, which unfortunately this was. Molly tried to save it by wrapping a velvet ribbon around it. Molly was working on it for half an hour before she only had Sherlock's scarf to wrap. By then she was slightly frustrated and decided to take s break and drink a cup of tea first. While drinking her tea Molly found a solution for the last present. She went in search for the small box she knew she had stored somewhere, exactly for this purpose. But just like many people who did this she had forgotten about it till now. Finally she found the box and decided to get it over with. It was the last one, after that she was finished with this impossible nightmare. With this newfound spirit Sherlock's present was wrapped in record time. Just to make it a little more good-looking Molly put a bow on it. Then she had all gifts in front of her. She knew which one was for whom but she decided to make it even easier and address each on. She packed the paper away and found a few cards. Each present got the name of the addressee as well as a _Love Molly xxx_. Only with Sherlock Molly decided to go the extra way and addressed him as _Dearest Sherlock_. She thought it would be nice to let him know that she still cared about him. He had been so nice only a few days ago, she wanted to return the favor. Then finally she was finished. Now she only had to wrap herself. Molly smiled as she realized what she had thought. Getting ready for a party often felt exactly like wrapping presents. It was a task that Molly hadn't perfected yet, mostly because she knew her taste in clothes differed from what most people found acceptable. Even with her friends Molly tried to not be the one to look too outstanding with mixed and mismatched patterns. And Christmas parties were a whole new level of complicated. One had to look festive but not overdone, it really was hard.

23:15

Molly only had set food in her apartment when her phone rang and she was told to be at work tomorrow at 8 o'clock. With this Molly's evening had the sprinkle on the cake of an absolute disastrous evening. She knew that Sherlock wasn't nice or polite but he had never humiliated her like this evening, in front of her friends no less. He had tried to make it up, had even apologized which John and Mrs Hudson had told her he had never done before, but the fact reminded that she couldn't get the harsh words out of her minds. Later in Greg had told her he felt the same and he hadn't gotten an apology. Thinking about it, when Sherlock had left to sulk in his room – not even John knew why – the rest of them had had a nice evening. But there had been talk about relationships and that hadn't helped Molly's mood. But to be fair it didn't help Greg's mood either. And the really depressing thoughts came when Molly laid down in bed. This was her fun part of Christmas. The party, meeting people, drinking and celebrating. the next day she had to work, instead of meeting family and friends and eating huge amounts of Christmas dinners. Or at least meeting your significant other and enjoying the day off. No, Molly Hooper was family-less, had no boyfriend and worked on Christmas. And the one party she was invited to had started with her getting humiliated. "What a terrible Christmas!" Molly thought frustrated before she fell into a deep sleep.


	11. Christmas Part II

12:45

Molly had come into work at 8 o'clock and had prepared the body of a female, early thirties, with her face bashed in. The cause of death wasn't hard to figure out and Molly was thankful that this was a seemingly easy case. She was told there would be someone coming to identify the body but she had been more than surprised when Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes had entered her morgue. To her surprise came a feeling of jealousy when Sherlock identified the body by not-her-face. This brought a new kind of humiliation. She had always thought about Sherlock being not interested in women in general – or men, humans – but this now changed everything. He really only wasn't interested in her. This was something that was even harder to forget than her humiliation at the party. Had John known about that, about the woman? He should have let her know that Sherlock had a girlfriend – love interest? - , she thought he was her friend. Molly dearly thought about her couch and the ice cream she had bought as part of her plans to spoil herself on Christmas. She only had to fill in the paperwork for Irene Adler and then she could go home and wallow in self-pity.

13:25

Molly had finished all her duties and because no new body had come in she was off. She had barely left the building – she was just arriving at the tube station - when she realized that she had left her phone and house keys in her locker. That happened when one was heartbroken and only thought about leaving work. Molly sighed and turned around. Back to St. Bart's it was. Molly walked back in, not meeting anyone. The hospital was more or less deserted, nobody really wanting to hang around on Christmas. Molly walked to her locker and was already turning around the corner on her way out when she noticed that there was a light on in the morgue. She groaned. Had she really also left the lights on? What exactly had she been thinking? Then she slapped her hand in front of her face. Clearly she hadn't been thinking. Molly marched across the hallway to the morgue, opened the door and stuck her hand in to turn of the lights when she stopped. Apparently she hadn't left it on but someone had come down here and turned the lights on and then proceeded to find her dead body. This somebody was standing there and examining Irene Adler. "Hey, what are you doing?" Molly asked. She had tried to make her voice hard but even she heard how weak it sounded. The man turned around and Molly froze. It was Jim Moriarty. He looked her up and down, his face blank. Molly closed her eyes for a second, hoping against hope that when she opened them again there would be some strange man inspecting Ms Adler and not her recent ex. But no such luck.

"What are you doing, Jim?" Molly asked again. This time it was less threatening, more annoyed. Jim smirked. "I was identifying a body, Dr Hooper. Such a shame you had already left." Molly groaned. "This is Irene Adler, she had been identified already." Jim grinned. "Oh no, that is _noooot_ Irene Adler. This is an unknown woman." "And I'm supposed to believe that?" "You believed _Sherlock_." The way Jim said _Sherlock_ sounded a lot like an insult and Molly briefly wondered why he suddenly was so against Sherlock when he had been fascinated by the man before. Then her thoughts returned to the man and dead woman in front of her. "Sherlock came here to identify the woman and he could do that on the basis of her body. I've never heard Sherlock lie and I know he's always right, so this means the woman is Irene Adler." Molly explained to Jim. She felt strange discussing this, standing here with him. Jim shook his head from side to side. "Sherlock got a gift yesterday that made him believe Ms Adler is dead, and then he heard he had to identify her and he found this body. This is, I must say, quite close to her body. Even the little mole on her right breast." Molly gnashed her teeth during Jim's explanation. Wasn't it bad enough that Sherlock knew the woman from not-her-face? Now Jim knew her body, too? And quite clearly he knew it even better than Sherlock. Jim looked up from the body to Molly when he heard the sound of her teeth. "Oh, Molly, darling, are you jealous?" He asked with mirth. "Pray tell, because of Sherlock or dear old me?" His grin widened and he had a sparkle in his eyes. But Molly was more than done with the men in her life.

She grabbed her phone and started dialing. "I'm calling the police." she told Jim. She would not stand here any longer and let herself be humiliated. There was a certain point and it had been crossed. Even Molly could only tolerate this much. Jim reacted in an instant; he was next to her and had stopped the call before it even connected. He was glaring at her now but Molly was over the point of caring. "Get out." she told him tiredly. Standing this close to him made it possible to smell his cologne and dear god, did he smell good. Jim looked at her and didn't move. The playfulness had left his face. Molly couldn't take it anymore. She later blamed it on the emotionally draining morning, but right now she acted instinctively. Jim was standing close to her, he was looking at her without the blank stare and he smelled so good, so Molly kissed him. One of her hands found their way to his head, playing with the hair; the other had him around the waist. She was kissing him desperately, letting him know how much she had missed this, not holding anything back. And after a moment Jim started kissing her back, pulling her even closer. Molly let her hands wander under his coat, under his jacket and tried to push them off. Part of her feared this would end in Jim ending the kiss but the opposite happened: he shrugged the offending clothes down, not even caring that they fell to the floor of a morgue. Hastily the two of them started undressing each other, trying to keep kissing, keep feeling the other, stroking, caressing. It was totally the wrong place for this but Molly couldn't care less. She fumbled for her bag, where she had a spare condom and not a minute later she was blissfully feeling Jim again.

14:00

Molly was fumbling to get her clothes back on, she shivered. The morgue really wasn't the most ideal place to take your clothes off, with it always being cold. Jim, too, was trying to get himself in order again. Nobody was speaking and Molly wasn't sure what she felt now. Yes, it had been amazing but it hadn't changed anything, had it? When she was finished dressing she saw that Jim also had his suit and coat back on. Molly closed her eyes and moved away from the door. She really didn't need to see him leave again. When she had stood there for what felt like minutes and she hadn't heard him move she opened her eyes again. Jim was still standing at the same spot, watching her. She would have said he looked confused but Jim was never confused. But then again, Jim never was silent, he always had something to say, play around, make fun of someone or something. And now he was silent. Molly smiled at him, a sad smile, barely a lift of the corner of her mouth and walked over to the dead body which was still not properly put away. Molly shuddered again. Who had sex in front of a dead body? When Irene Adler had been closed away, Molly turned around to find Jim still standing there and watching her. Slowly she was getting unnerved. Molly had always believed that communication was the key to any relationship but with the way the last conversation had gone with Jim she wasn't sure if this still applied. But Molly couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"So…." she started but then didn't know how to finish the sentence. And Jim still didn't move or say anything. Molly blushed. "I'm on my way out. There aren't any new bodies and I was called here only for the Irene Adler one, even though you said it isn't Irene Adler. I'm actually not sure what to do now, but I guess I'll still write that she was identified. I can't really write that a criminal broke in and told me she isn't who Sherlock said she was. Well, anyway, I'm on my way home. I'm cooking a nice diner for me but I guess there will be lots of it left over. I mean it's really hard to cook for one, so maybe if you want you can come, too? But you don't need to…" Molly had realized that she rambled and was getting quieter with each word of her invitation. When Jim still didn't say anything she packed her bag, switched the light of and hurried out of the room. Jim followed and Molly closed the door, and then walked slowly out of the building. Jim wasn't following which was an answer as well, Molly thought. Not the one she had hoped for but an answer. She thought she heard him talking but when she turned around he was on his phone, not talking to her. He had probably been telling her the truth during their break up, he only used her for fun. And she wasn't only letting him but initiating it even. Molly sighed. Now she definitely had earned herself the whole box of ice cream.

Molly was leaving the building when a black car pulled up in front of it and Jim appeared at her side. "Come on." he told her, put a hand on her elbow and led her to the car. He gave the driver her address and leaned back in the plush cushion of the seat. Molly wasn't as relaxed. "Are you dropping me off or are you coming with me?" she asked, slightly unsure. But at least this showed that he felt a little something for her. He could have easily let her take the tube and driven off with his car. Jim grinned at her. "I've got a present for you, darling; you can spend Christmas with me." Molly looked at him, surprised. "So, you're coming with me." She was more than relieved. Maybe they were on the right track again. "Oh, no, darling, you misunderstood." Jim explained. "I have a lot of work to do. People are soo annoyed by their families; they need me during the holidays." This didn't sound like them spending time together, Molly thought. "But darling, you'll get what you need to cook this lovely dinner you mentioned and then you're coming with me to my flat." Molly blinked. He had just invited her to his flat. The one he had said was too dangerous. Why had he changed his mind? But before she could think about all this her body had reacted on its own and Molly was kissing Jim again. Maybe Christmas wouldn't be too bad after all.


	12. Spending Christmas together

14:53

Molly was sitting in the car again after being in her flat for a little over 10 minutes. She has used two shopping bags to store anything she needed for her meal. This also included some eggs and chocolate that she wouldn't have used for herself. But with the company of Jim, Molly thought that she wanted to make a dessert as well. She had already been out of the door when she thought of the present for Jim that was still in the box under her bed. Now it was an option again to give it to him. Molly went back and put the gift in her handbag. It wasn't wrapped, other than in the bag from the store, but Molly thought this didn't matter. She wasn't even sure if he deserved a gift. But if the moment arose, she was prepared.

When she came back to the car the driver took her bags and put them in the trunk while Molly sat back down by Jim. He was on the phone. Molly wouldn't have thought that he could be s serious. His normal playfulness wasn't to be found, in his tone, everything was brisk and to the point. Molly didn't want t listen in on his work so she used the time to look out the window and think about how she imagined Jim's flat. She guessed that it was void of knick-knack or personal items. It would probably be all black, white, steel and glass. No colors. Expensive, but impersonal.

When the ride stopped in front of a large, old building Molly wasn't surprised. Jim finally ended his call. "Okay, I let you handle the calls. Remember the three categories. One: Boring. Two: Potential. Three: Exiting, challenging. You are to call me only for a three. Tell the rest we'll get back to them." He paused and listened while Molly watched him. In a way it was fascinating to watch Jim work. He was efficient and could have run any kind of company but had chosen the criminal profession. It was such a shame. Otherwise Molly would have found the perfect man for herself. But then he must have heard something he didn't like because his face closed off and his eyes looked threatening. "And back to the lunatic criminal." Molly thought sadly. "That is none of your business." Jim said through gritted teeth, and then he hung up. He turned to Molly, his face changing again. "Come on, darling, let me show you my palace." He and Molly left the car and walked through a lobby to the lift. There were a doorman and a concierge and Molly thought that it was good to know that Jim lived protected. He probably had enough enemies. Then she turned to Jim. "I would have thought you lived somewhere flashier. More like the Buckingham Palace. The flat thing doesn't suit your theatrical appearance."Jim grinned. "If I wanted to live in the Buckingham Palace I would. I prefer this. It's more private." Molly wasn't sure if he was joking. With Jim everything seemed possible. The doors of the lift opened and just like with the suite in Paris, Molly was overwhelmed.

In front of her was an enormous flat with a huge glass front going out to a balcony. She had been right about the lack of knick-knack and it being expensive but other than that she had been way off. The whole flat screamed homely and warm welcome. There was the kitchen, a lot of wood and marble with a wooden counter and two bar stools in front of it. More or less next to the kitchen, in front of the window, was a large wooden table with six beige leather chairs. To Molly's left was a wooden spiraling staircase to the upper part of the flat, the bedrooms. And behind that was the living room. There were two bog leather couches, beige just like the chairs. A huge TV was hanging on the wall. "Cinema feeling." Molly thought. In the far left corner, facing the whole room as well as part of the balcony there was a beige, leather armchair. Next to it a small wooden table with the only personal item Molly could find on the first look: a book. It was a great flat but the lack of Jim was evident. He didn't seem to live here much of his time. The whole flat could have been photographed for a catalogue any moment. Nonetheless it was nothing like Molly expected. After having gaped at the flat for what felt like hours, Jim patiently standing beside her, he finally took her hand and led her inside. There Molly found her two shopping backs on the counter. "How have they come here so fast?" she thought distractedly. "Ahem, should I, ahem, should start to cook?" Molly asked nervously. Jim was about to answer as his phone rang and he scowled. "Sorry." he apologized and then left the room, going upstairs. Molly heard him bark "Talk." at the phone. Then she decided she might as well start cooking.

16:19

Jim still hadn't reappeared and Molly had prepared everything she could do now. The first course, a salad with pears and cheese, was ready to be eaten, whenever they felt like it. Molly only needed to pour the dressing over it. The meat was in the oven and needed another 90 minutes; the side dish was ready to be cooked twenty minutes before the meat was finished. Molly even had the dessert ready. When they wanted dessert the Molten-Lava-Cake only needed 15 minutes in the oven and was resting in the fridge for now. Molly started to clean the kitchen, do the dishes and searched for the good tableware. Another 15 minutes passed and Molly had the table ready as well. She had found a rather large amount of decoration stuff, including napkins. Now the table was festive, because the rest of the flat lacked any Christmas decoration. Just as Molly ran out of ideas Jim reappeared. For the first time today he was smiling a real, honest smile. He came up to her and hugged her. "It already smells delicious." he told her and Molly smiled proudly. "I know." she laughed. "It's one of my favorite meals for a festive occasion. By the way, your flat is lacking Christmas." Jim's smile vanished but he didn't look as scary as before. "Christmas days are one of my busiest days. All the families clinging together, if they like each other or not." he explained. "Also I've never had anyone to celebrate this nonsense with." Molly kissed him. "Well, today you have someone in your flat who wants to celebrate." "I'm doing what I can, darling, to focus on you." Molly took this as her Christmas present and kissed him eagerly, thanking him for it. After another 5 minutes of snogging, Molly broke away. "Do you want to eat the first course?" she asked. Jim grinned. "How about I show you my bedroom first. It's quite the fantastic room. You wouldn't want to miss it." Molly grinned back. "Well, is that so? Show me this room!"

They had barely made it through the door of his bedroom when Jim's phone rang again and he let go of her hand, fishing the phone out of his pocket and cursing silently. "Not now. Try again in half an hour." he barked at the caller. Molly was stripping and crawled into bed in only her panties. Jim's sheets were unbelievable soft, just laying there felt like heaven. Molly moaned and Jim's head snapped to her. He was watching her now like a prey but still he was listening to his phone. Molly pouted and decided to provoke a reaction. She stretched, so that the blanket fell to her hips, leaving her breasts free. Slowly she let her hand wander along her body and under the blanket, all the while grinning at Jim. He growled and Molly giggled. Then she closed her eyes and just enjoyed the material of the sheets. "Take his passport, let her take the money for us from their account and phone him from a disposable phone. It'll look like he ran away and everyone is happy. That's a One, Seb. Don't make this mistake again." Molly had just listened to the planning of a murder but she just couldn't care. It was too wonderful to be back with Jim, laying in his bed and waiting for him to come join her. She had the rustling of clothes and seconds later Jim was joining her under the blankets.

23:16

Once again Molly and Jim were in bed. They had spent a really nice evening with only minor disruptions by Jim's work. Seb had apparently got the message that he was not to disturb his boss for anything unspectacular. Molly was extremely happy; she'd had great food, great sex and great company. As always Jim had been funny and intelligent, the conversation flowing without any problems. The only thing they hadn't mentioned was their break-up. But Molly was curious why they had had this row in the first place and what had changed Jim's mind. However, Molly wasn't sure if she could just ask him. She doubted that Jim would tell her. He would either ignore the question or side-step it or the worst case would be another fight and break-up. That was one of the hardest things of being with Jim, not knowing how he reacted. He was just so changeable. Just as Molly summoned all her courage to ask at least one of the questions, starting by kissing him and cuddling to him, Jim's phone rang again. Molly groaned and Jim looked at her amused. Then his hand shot out to the phone on his bedside. "Talk." He was sitting probed up against the headboard and Molly was laying with her head on his chest, her fingers playing with the small trail of hair on his stomach. She knew she might hear another plan for a crime if Jim wouldn't move, but she was comfortable and not in the mood to change that. Jim looked down at her and raised his eyebrows questionably. Molly shrugged her shoulders, as far as that was possible in her position. With the last calls Molly had used the time to go to the bathroom, prepare the dessert and tidy up. One time Jim had left the room with a quick excuse. But it seemed he didn't mind that Molly heard his plans. Molly smiled to herself. "Part of a relationship is trust. With us this might be trusting the other won't talk to the police." she thought. "I'm in bed with my naked girlfriend, get to the POINT." Jim yelled annoyed.

Molly froze, then looked up slowly at Jim's face. It didn't betray any thoughts. This was the first time he had called her his girlfriend, the only time he admitted to a thing between them. Molly couldn't help but grin widely. Then she started her earlier ministrations again and waited patiently for Jim to finish, but her thoughts raced. Girlfriend. Was that really what she wanted? Being in a relationship with a criminal? Shouldn't she see a future for a relationship? Could she see a future with Jim? She wasn't sure about the future but she was sure that the last few weeks had been extremely sad and depressing. She had missed Jim like crazy. This was an answer for her question, she supposed. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Jim said. "I'll come. Don't do anything!" This was not going the way she wanted. They were supposed to talk about the girlfriend-thing. Molly pouted. Jim looked at her. "You knew that I'm a busy man." he told her. Then he moved out from under her and out of the bed. Molly sat up and reached for her clothes, too. "You can stay here. I'll come back sometime tonight." Jim told her, while dressing. Molly still took her underwear and pulled them on. She felt stupid lying naked in his bed alone. "Okay, I'll stay." she decided. This bed was just so comfortable and she didn't feel like searching for a cab in the middle of the night, especially at Christmas. Jim grinned at her. "It'll be a good incentive to come back soon." Molly tried to smile, too. "I hope it's nothing dangerous, what you're about to do." Jim's grin widened. "That's half the fun." Molly groaned. "Please come back in one piece." Jim came over to her and kissed her."Goodbye my darling." Then he left, already o the phone again. Molly sighed and got comfortable in his bed, trying to get to sleep. The talk about their relationship had to wait. But at least they had spent a really nice Christmas day together.


End file.
